Accelerators and particle detectors > How do we experiment with tiny particles? > Detector shapes

Detector shapes

Physicists are curious about the events that
occur during and after a particle's collision.
For this reason, they place detectors in the regions
which will be showered with particles following an event.
Detectors are built in different ways
according to the type of collision they analyize.

Fixed Target: With a fixed-target experiment the particles produced
generally fly in the forward direction, so detectors are cone shaped and are
placed "downstream."

Colliding Beams:
During a colliding-beam experiment, the particles radiate in
all directions, so the detector is spherical or, more commonly, cylindrical.